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Meet our members

NIHR Committee panel feedback on PPI from CSG2 successful programme development grant application
"The arrangements for patient and public involvement and engagement were outstanding"

BHF Patient Advisory Group feedback on PPI involvement for CSG4 successful grant application
"It goes beyond tokenistic involvement and embeds PPI meaningfully throughout trial design, recruitment and communication plans"

Chairperson

Sarah Murray is passionate about patient care and putting the patients' needs at the centre of all innovation and research. This is what motivated her to join this novel and ground-breaking initiative and she is proud to be the Chair of the British Heart Foundation/James Lind Alliance Public and Patient Initiative for the Priority Setting Partnership. She is also Chair of the NICOR Patient Representative Group, and the Lay representative on the Executive of the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery. She is a qualified solicitor with a broad range of NED experience both at national and regional level.

Co-members

David Batchelor is a retired engineering technician, who is registered disabled following an industrial accident that left him with spinal injuries. He has had four heart attaches, End stage COPD, hypothyroidism, PAD in both legs, stage 4 CKD, brain injury and cancer. David uses what he has to help the NHS where he can. He also works with the NIHR, Cicely Saunders Institute and universities with their research as a patient participant, a PPI, and being a co-applicant on two studies.

Phil Blakelock first came to the world of PPI after engaging with the BHF following surgery to replace a bicuspid aortic valve some four years ago, being invited prior to the operation to contribute to a research programme on heart muscle make-up. This brought a realisation of the link between physics / science and technology with cardiology, and how this can be brought to bear upon challenging cardiac conditions and the welfare of the population.

Phil has spent most of his career in Defence Engineering and is passionate about all things science. Having participated in a very professionally run heart research programme, Phil wants to influence new programmes and trials so that they are executed in the same way, particularly from the patient’s perspective, on how trials are communicated, and executed.

As a patient representative Phil contributes to many other PPI initiatives, pre-funding application assessments, BMJ patient reviews etc., including the All Party Parliamentary Group on “AI in heart and circulatory diseases”, as well as the House of Lords Committee on “Beyond Digital – Planning for a hybrid world”.

Judith Bower  has been a carer and lay member of a number of Clinical Study Groups over a few years.  She supports family members who have experienced many cardiac interventions. As a lay member she has a great interest in research.  She has an academic background in engineering, biomechanics and education and has been a dementia adviser and trainer in dementia care for 15 years. She currently works for , supporting carers of people living with dementia. Her passion is to make scientific language more accessible to lay members and give carers a voice in their supporting roles.

Anjie Chappia is a Lived Experience Researcher/Patient and Public Voice Partner/Peer Leader Strategic Coproduction Group Personalised Care NHSE/Community Engagement.  She is passionate about the patient voice at the start of Innovation research and policy. Anjie has over 30 years' experience with Health and Social Care in NW London and Regionally and involved with Third Sector as a Community Champion. She cares for heart patient family and friend navigating services where Language-belief-culture and faith often lead to assumptions and unsatisfactory outcomes without patients' and family voice and she is keen to share and learn how to overcome hurdles to reduce health inequalities incorporating value based approaches in research and upcoming innovation.

Anjie is involved locally in Trusts, PCNS, Local Authority and Third Sector organisations as a Patient Voice for Strategic Policy and Quality Improvements. She is also involved as a Lived Experience Researcher with various Universities and Third Sector Charities.  She continues to represent the Strategic Co-production Group to take forward the work of Shared-Decision Making at Transformation Level on local and regional projects.

Jeremy Dearling has been involved in PPI for many years and welcomes the opportunity to support and contribute to this initiative. He will bring to research conversations the insights of being disabled through critical illness, being a carer, and those of having worked on the front line in the NHS.

Debbie Fitzgerald has a background in healthcare and when she became affected by cardiac problems, was keen to gather as much information as possible, particularly about cardiac surgery.  Through the BHF, she learnt about the opportunity to become involved in research and how she could help the researchers by bringing a patient's perspective to their research.  Working in the field of Oncology, where patients are involved in clinical trials, Debbie feels she can give both a personal and professional opinion on recruitment and involvement in clinical trials.  She enjoys participating in the Clinical Study Group meetings and feels her opinions are very much valued by the researchers.

Ray Ghandi is interested in Cardiovascular research having been a former patient of Glenfield Hospital, Leicester.  He has had two cardiac events resulting in an angiogram and 4 stents being inserted.  Because of his history, Ray was interested in joining the National PPI Group as, having benefited from cardiac surgery expertise, he wishes to contribute to advances in cardiac surgery by supporting research in this field.

Paul Haywood wishes to assist the National PPI group in identifying the clinical trials that are needed to advance cardiac surgery in the future and to help where needed in delivering the vision and outcome of the clinical trials. 

Alan Keys has been a cardiac patient representative since 2004, including BHF, CQC hospital inspector, CCG Governing Body and NHSE committees. He is currently President, Cardiovascular Care Partnership (UK), British Cardiovascular Society Council, Clinical Standards and Finance Committees, BCIS and ESC Clinical Standards Committees, MINAP Domain Expert Group and NICOR Patient Reference Group. Having benefitted from surgical expertise and worked on performance quality he wishes to contribute a little to advances in cardiac surgery by supporting specialist research.

Christina King is Chair of the CSG2 Prehabilitation PPI group and has developed her experience in the field of PPI over a number of years.  Christina and her son both live with congenital cardiac abnormalities and between them have had several open heart surgeries.  As a result she is keen to support research that might improve the open heart surgery experience for patients.  Christina is a retired dental surgeon so is able to draw upon medical knowledge as well as patient experience to contribute to this research project. 

Irene Leeman is a retired dentist, mainly working with children and adults with special needs, and she taught Dental Public Health to undergrads and postgraduates. She spent 9 years as a public governor for a mental health and community services NHS Trust and is a member of the Lay Committee at the RCoA. She is passionate about patient centred healthcare and hopes to share information and contribute to improvements in cardiac care from the patient perspective. She has a personal interest in cardiac treatment and care.

Mark Lewis has lived with aortic dissections since 2012 and has been an active member of the patient support group Aortic Dissection Awareness (UK and Ireland) following emergency surgery for a type A dissection in July 2018.  Over the last five years he has had a number of major and minor operations and is a strong believer in the ‘voice of the patient’ in medical interventions and contributing to National health care Standards/Policy. He is contributing to a number of research projects within Cardiovascular Surgery and also aortic dissections.  He has a particular interest in patient decision support tools and the use of digital and data services. Recently he was appointed as a PPV member of the NHS England Specialist Vascular Clinical Reference Group.

Gil Wheeler since his diagnosis of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy heart condition back in 1990, Gil has been involved with patient engagement and participation roles both at local and national levels learning to both listen and speak up for the patient. Throughout his time with this involvement he has learnt and helped to educate not only other patients but clinical staff as well. He sits on several health service steering groups looking at best practices, data, research, clinical studies and funding for new ideas to supporting the Heart patient now and in the future. He has set up 3 Facebook groups Big heart Club, Patients Voice and Empowering Patients within the NHS.

Cathy Wield was born and raised overseas before returning to the UK for her education.  She is a retired A&E doctor, author and speaker.  As a peer leader and part of the Strategic Coproduction Group for NHS England, she is passionate to improve care for all patients within the NHS and is particularly keen to advocate for the needs of patients suffering from emotional crises and/or given psychiatric diagnoses.

Keith Wilson is a former heart patient who had the benefit of research. Keith is now working at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital helping patients through their experiences benefit from research.